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The new equipment and cameras on Hubble will allow scientists to look deeper into space and even more closely to the galaxies and solar systems near ours. What do you hope scientists will discover by using Hubble?
Photo: NASA
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Are
you compelled to make new discoveries? If you could search for
something completely new—animals, stars, a cure for a major
disease—what would you want to discover, and how would you do it?
Photo of 47 million-year-old primate fossil "Ida," at her global unveiling at the American Museum of Natural History on May 19, 2009, in New York City. (Andrew H. Walker/image.net)
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Have you, your family, or school been affected by the swine flu outbreak? How? Share what you are doing to stay healthy!
Photo: Amy Sussman/Corbis
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Do you have a cell phone? How old were you when you got it? If you don't have one, do you want one? Have you ever received an unwanted call, text, or picture on your cell phone? What did you do?
(Photo: istockphoto.com)
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Have you, your family, or school been affected by the H1N1 virus outbreak? How? Share what you are doing to stay healthy!
(Photo: Jeremy Portje/Dubuque Telegraph Herald/Rapport Syndication/NewsCom)
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What are your ideas to help preserve endangered animals? Can
you think of ways to get your community involved in helping endangered
animals survive? Tell us about your ideas!
(Photo: Belle, a loggerhead turtle from Melbourne Beach, Florida, starts the Tour de Turtles race just off the east coast of central Florida, August 1, 2008. Photo courtesy Caribbean Conservation Corporation, www.cccturtle.org)
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What subject or activity are you most excited about this school year?
Girls learning the English alphabet at a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, June, 2007. Photo: ©Alison Wright/Corbis.
By Scholastic Kid Reporter Grace Choi
The closing ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics was a once-in-a-lifetime celebration. Beginning with a countdown from 29, representing the 29th Olympiad, fireworks shaped out numbers as the countdown cruised to 1.
Similar to the opening ceremony, there was a big percussion entrance. There were even 2 huge bed-sized drums suspended in mid-air as two drummers hung on each side of the drum beating with the rhythm of the other synchronized drummers below. As the celebration began, the athletes filed in, walking not in order with their country, but side by side with athletes from other countries.
As people dressed in white made a pathway for the glow-in-the-dark bikes, fireworks blasted up in the air continuously.
"This country did not just make fireworks, they perfected them," said the NBC newscaster.
The closing ceremony was also like a mini-opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics. A double-decker bus (common in London) entered the Bird's Nest carrying a girl holding a soccer ball. This soccer ball turned out in the hands of super star soccer player David Beckham, whose hometown is London.
The double-decker gradually unraveled into a stage where English pop star Leona Lewis performed with Led Zeppelin’s guitarist, Jimmy Page. As the song went on, Beckham unexpectedly rose from another platform from the bus with the soccer ball in hand. He threw it to the crowd where a Chinese volunteer quickly ran to grab this one-in-a-lifetime souvenir.
When the Olympic torch was extinguished it was quickly replaced by a human torch. As about 400 men quickly climbed up the 5 story Memory Tower, they formed a big red cone shaped flame as a remembrance of the 2008 Olympics.
Jackie Chan who sang along with other Chinese pop stars even sang a solo which brought a stadium-full of applause afterward. During all this one-of-a-kind celebration, Michael Phelps was in London getting a start on the London 2012 Olympics. He told his fans there that he'd be racing again in four years and can't wait to be back then.
From these 17 days of international games, Team USA returns home with 110 medals.
(Above: Fireworks explode over the National Stadium during the performance for the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, August 24, 2008. Photo: ©Luca Bruno/AP Images)
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When Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf resigned on Monday, the United States lost one of its key allies in its fight against terrorism. But in many ways Musharraf didn't adhere to the principles of democracy and freedom that the United States is trying to protect. Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing that Musharraf resigned? Why? How do you think his resignation will effect America's war in Afghanistan?
Photo: ©Emilio Morenatti/AP Images
By Grace Choi
Many Koreans living in Seoul are often distracted from everyday work by the TV’s that can be spotted from a shop's window. What are they watching so intently? The Olympic Games! I’m in Korea for the summer, so I get to watch the games from a different perspective.
On the nightly news more than half of the daily scoop is about the Games and the events that Koreans are performing best in, which includes swimming, archery, weight-lifting, and judo.
The women’s and men's archery team have both won gold medals, consecutively acing all teams that came their way. On TV, you can even see Koreans dressed in yellow ponchos shouting chants and blowing whistles unwaveringly through rough rain.
Tae-Hwan Park, a 19-year-old freestyle swimmer, is usually the man on the front cover of the newspapers here. Because of his asthma, his doctors suggested that he take up swimming, which has lead to his successful career. After being disqualified for a false start during the 2004 Athens Olympics, Park came back strong this year, winning a gold medal on the 400 meter and coming in 2nd after Phelps in the 200 meter.
Along with Tae-Hwan Park, a female weightlifter, Mi-Ran Jang who won three consecutive world championships, is also a big star in Korea. Although she hasn’t yet competed this year, Koreans believe that she can take it all the way to the end.
As a result of Korea’s successful winnings, the country’s athletes are ranked fourth place in the medal counting with 6 gold medals, 7 silver medals, and 3 bronze.
PHOTO: South Korea's silver medal winner Park Tae-hwan, left, congratulates United
States' gold medal winner Michael Phelps during the medal ceremony for the
men's 200-meter freestyle final during the swimming competitions in the
National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Tuesday,
Aug. 12, 2008. Park is as big a celebrity in South Korea as Michael Phelps is in the U.S.
Credit: ©David J. Phillip/AP Images
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A 1994 peace agreement fell apart when Russia invaded its neighboring country of Georgia. Russian Prime Minister President Vladimir V. Putin called the conflict the start of war. Should the U.S. become involved in the conflict between Russia and Georgia? Why? Do you think the measures President Bush announced are appropriate responses to the conflict? What role should NATO play in this conflict?
Photo: White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian
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A 1994 peace agreement fell apart on Thursday as Russia invaded its neighboring country of Georgia. Russian Prime Minister President Vladimir V. Putin called the conflict the start of war. Should the U.S. become involved in the conflict between Russia and Georgia? Why? What role should NATO play in this conflict?
Photo: ©Vano Shlamov/AFP/NewsCom
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More than 125,000 critically endangered western lowland gorillas have been discovered living in the forests of the Republic of the Congo. This is a significant discovery. It boosts the estimated number of the western lowland gorilla population from roughly 50,000 to between 175,00 and 225,000. But that doesn't mean the gorilla is out of danger. They still face the perils of hunting and disease. How do you think the gorilla population should be protected? What steps would you take to ensure gorillas and other endangered animals don't become extinct?
Photo: ©Thomas Breuer/Wildlife Conservation Society/UPI/NewsCom
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Would you be willing to live and work in such extreme conditions—like
camping out on a glacier—to do or study something you enjoy and think
is important? Why or why not?
(Photo: Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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Numerous cyclists were caught using illegal performance-enhancing substances -- or doping -- during the 2008 Tour de France. It's not the first year that this has happened. Two years ago, American Floyd Landis won the race and then was caught having used performance enhancers. Doping has been a problem in most sports over the past few years. What do you think should happen to an athlete if they are caught doping? What kind of action should the sports world take to stop doping from happening?
Photo: ©Philippe Perusseau/NewsCom
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When Spain won the Euro 2008 Championship on Sunday, the country broke out into a national celebration. Soccer--or football as it's called in Europe--has a passionate and devoted following in Spain and across Europe. In the United States, though, soccer isn't as popular. Do you enjoy soccer? Do you play it? Do you watch it? What is it that you like or dislike about the sport?
Photo: AP Photo/Bernat Armangue
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The people of Zimbabwe are facing many obstacles in trying to vote for their President. The most recent one came on Sunday when one of the candidates dropped out of the race because of threats and violence. But election problems happen all over the world. Even in the United States, some people think our election system is broken.
In what ways is the American form of voting better than what they have in Zimbabwe? Are there ways of improving the American election system? Do you know of a time in American history when people were faced with violence when trying to vote?
Photo: ©Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP Images
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Kids in China and Myanmar are faced with recovering after a major earthquake and a very strong cyclone. But natural disasters -- like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes -- impact kids all over the world all the time.
Have you ever been in a natural disaster? How were you affected by it? How did your community come together and rebuild?
(Photo: ©Khin Maung Win/AFP/NewsCom)
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Do you think it is important to save endangered animals? Why? What are
your ideas to help preserve species that are in danger of disappearing
from the Earth?
(Tasmanian Devils play fighting at Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park,
near Taranna, Tasmania, Australia. (Photo: ©Dave Walsh /drr.net)
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